Trump criticizes Britain’s May over handling of Brexit

WASHINGTON (Rahnuma) : U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Britain’s divorce from the European Union (EU) has gone badly because British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to listen to him.

Trump said he is “surprised” at how poorly the Brexit negotiations have gone, noting he gave May ideas on how to proceed through the talks but said she rejected the proposals.

“She’s got to do what she’s got to do, but I think it could have been negotiated in a different manner,” Trump said in the Oval Office while hosting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

“Frankly it’s a shame. There’s no reason for that to happen.”

Trump said a second vote on Brexit would be “very unfair” just hours after tweeting that he “looks forward to negotiating a large scale Trade Deal with the United Kingdom”.

The United Kingdom’s legislature on Wednesday evening approved an amended government motion ruling out a no-deal Brexit.

The parliament vote came a day after May’s deal to exit the EU was heavily defeated for the second time.

The House of Commons will vote on whether to seek a delay to Britain’s departure from the bloc on Thursday.

The motion gives the British government and MPs until next Wednesday to pass a Brexit deal.

It says if a deal is passed by then, the government will seek an extension of Article 50, the withdrawal clause of the EU charter the UK triggered in March 2017, until June 30. But if the deal is not passed by then, the government will need a longer extension.

A further extension will mean the UK taking part in upcoming European parliament elections, a move the British government has tried hard to avoid.

Prior to Wednesday’s vote, the UK was set to leave the EU on March 29.